Zion
by CinnyMon
Summary: After a long, hard day at work, Ianto meets someone in the streets of Cardiff, who send his world for a spin. As Jack and the gang try to right the wrongs, Ianto's just trying to pick up the pieces of his life. Janto. Rating may go up in later chapters.
1. Two in the Morning

**Summary:** Something is wrong with dear Ianto, and the Torchwood crew intends to find out.  
**Rating:** T- M (For things that would ruin the plot if I told you)  
**Spoilers: **All of Season 1 up to End of Days  
**Author's Note:** Listen guys, I'm _real_ sorry about Showstopper and it's lack of updates. I'm working on it, honestly I am, but the writer's block bug has bit me, and hard. I'm stumpped as what to write, and when I go back through to read, it's so unbelievably OOC that I want to vomit. Really. It is. So, here's some Torchwood that I'm working on, while the Resident Evil bug tries to get all better. 8D

--

Tosh watched the CCTV with disinterest. It was well past one in the morning, and even thought she wanted to sleep, it was eluding her. Owen had gone home for the night, ranting that he was going to meet an old collage friend at the local pub, and Gwen left at nine, claiming that she needed to 'catch up with Rhys'. Jack was, naturally, in the Hub, seeing as though he lived somewhere within it, and for one reason or another, Ianto had stayed.

"I hope they're doing something productive," She murmured to herself. A smirk played at her lips as she rolled her eyes, clicking her mouse to the next image on the screen.

"Well," A cup of coffee was pushed onto her desk, "I hope making you coffee is classified as 'productive'."

"Whoops?" Tosh said childishly, shrugging her shoulders. She eyed the beverage appreciatively and took a hardy sip. After wiping the residue from her mouth, she sighed out, "Thanks, Ianto."

The Welshman gave a small smile, "You should be heading home."

Tosh spun in her chair so that she was facing Ianto, pulling the coffee with her. "Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" She took another sip and looked up at her co-worker.

"I have a few more things to file, and then I'll be going." He shook the pile of papers in his hands to prove his point, "You on the other hand don't have a valid excuse to be here."

"Yes I do, I'm-"

"Monitoring the CCTV does not count as something to do." Jack yelled. Tosh looked up, and there was her boss, leaning over the top balcony's railing with a smug look on his face. Frowning, she finished off the coffee with an exasperated swig. She set the china cup aside and turned around, facing the ever-changing images of the monitor.

"You know, ignoring me isn't possible." Jack continued as if he wasn't talking to Toshiko's back. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, making Ianto snicker. It was at times like this that Ianto was glad he stayed extra hours behind; to watch his friends go at it like they didn't work for a secret organization was really worth it. Like they all actually had lives.

While Jack was still chattering away to Tosh's back, Ianto wandered back off to the archives, filing the documents that Jack had filled out in the hours previous. They were miscellaneous: Rift activity charts, files on new aliens, and – for whatever reason – articles of medicinal journals. The last one was no doubt Owen's doing.

Ianto glanced over one of the papers briefly, his eyes setting on one of the journals in particular. Death rates had spiked, and as an effect, orphan rates had too. It seemed like a perfectly _normal_ article; what would Owen want with it?

"Hmm," he shrugged to himself and filed it away. In the back of his head, he made a mental note to reread the article later, when and if he had time. He brushed his suit down, making sure that the cobwebs were clearly off his attire, before making his way to the steps.

As Ianto ascended the stairs for the final time that night – or would it be for the first time that day? – he rubbed his hands together and made his way over to Tosh's desk. Grabbing the empty cup from her, he shook her on the shoulder and asked, "Would you mind if I walked you home?"

"Aw, Ianto the charmer." Jack teased. Ianto looked back to flash him a grin, but he couldn't help but notice the bittersweet sort of aura surrounding the man. He settled for a small smile.

"Jealous, sir?" He said instead.

"Of course, if you went home, then I would have had Toshiko all to myself."

The Welshman dropped the conversation by turning to look at Tosh and asking the question again.

She answered with a yawn and a sleepy, "I'm fine."

"Bull." Jack said, stretching. "Ianto, you live on the other side of town, right? Why don't I give Tosh a ride home, to save you the trouble?"

"Not going to jump into her pants, are you?" Ianto asked, bringing the dirty cup to the kitchenette. Jack could only see the back of Ianto's head from where he was standing, but he gave a haughty sigh and said, "Nope. Scouts honor."

"You were a Boy Scout?" Tosh squealed incredulously.

Jack barked out a laugh, "Hell no. What with the uniforms and the arts and crafts? Sorry, but that wasn't the choice for me when I was a kid."

"You would have looked cute in a uniform though." She insisted. Tosh gave a stifled laugh as the image of Jack in a tight Boy Scout uniform floated into her mind.

"You think?" he asked, as if actually considering it.

Ianto, by this time, was leaning against the wall, dozing as he stood. Jack whistled, and the Welshman snapped to attention in an instant. Jack chuckled and prodded the man by saying; "You _really_ wanna drive Tosh home like that? You'll both end up in an accident."

"Who said anything about driving?" Ianto slurred sleepily, letting out a long yawn. "I was going to walk her, then take a bus to my apartment."

"Ianto, buddy, I got this, okay?" Jack insisted. Too tired to put up a proper argument, Ianto simply nodded and said softly, "Suppose you're right…"

"Good night, Ianto!" Tosh called to him as he made his way to the automatic steel door.

"Night Tosh. Jack." He nodded and disappeared through the exit. Jack hummed in thought before turning to Toshiko.

"Ready to go?"

"Five more minutes." She pleaded, "Actually, I'm keeping an eye on Owen, making sure he doesn't do anything daft."

At that, Jack snorted, "When _isn't _he doing anything daft?"

"Exactly my point."

Jack looked at her a moment, wanting to say something. Feeling eyes on the back of her head, she turned around and looked expectedly at Jack. "Yes?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. And seriously, only five more minutes."

She smiled, "Scouts honor."

The streets seemed to be a lot darker than usual, which was an absurd thought seeing as though all of the lamps were lit. Ianto buried his face deep into his scarf, berating himself for not buying a warmer coat. He could afford one after all; it wasn't like he was poor or anything. On top of that, December was just around the corner, and a new coat was what he was going to put on the top of his Christmas list.

A heavy gust whipped past Ianto, making his scarf dance behind him. He pressed it harder to his nose, shivering all the way down to his bones. His apartment was only a block or so away, and he could man up until then. He was going to make himself a nice _hot_ cup of coffee, and hop right into a steaming tub – that would be the _life._

He smiled to himself.

Something tugged on the back of his coat, making him turn. He was prepared to strike, when he looked down, and noticed that it was a small girl. He was calmed slightly, but unnerved at the same time. What was a child doing outside at almost two in the bloody morning?

"Um…" She bit her lip, "Can you help me?"

Ianto's smile quickly turned into a frown. "What's wrong?"

"I wanna go home!" She sniffed. Her face looked like she had been crying.

"What's your name?"

"Melissa,"

Ianto crouched down, "My name's Ianto, nice to meet you." He looked around for any other sign of life. "Melissa, where is your home?"

Her lip trembled, "I don't know. I woke up and it was gone."

"Gone?" He repeated. "How was it gone?"

Melissa shrugged, her brown curls bouncing, "I went to bed, and then woke up out here, in the snow."

Ianto contemplated this for a minute. So, this little girl, Melissa, went to bed in her house, and then woke up in the street. It sounded like a classic kidnapping, except for the fact that kidnappers didn't exactly _leave_ their hostages and then run. Could it have been Rift activity? Tosh hadn't picked up anything on the scanners, or the CCTV, but then again, both could be unreliable. They couldn't scan everywhere, and see everything, right? His thoughts quickly went to the article that Owen had filed earlier, but he dismissed it as coincidence.

"Do you remember anything, Melissa, anything at all?" He asked, grabbing the girl by her arm.

She shook her head.

He swore under his breath, doing a once-over of the child. She looked like she was telling the truth: Dora the Explorer pajamas, bare feet, scared shitless expression – signs of honesty.

"How old are you?"

"Six." She shivered, "Mr. Ianto, I'm cold."

He quickly undid his coat, wrapping it around the child's shoulders, securing it tightly. "Better?" He asked.

Melissa nodded and burrowed into the coat. Ianto looked at her again, sizing her up, and then pulled out his mobile.

"Excuse me for a second, Melissa."

The little girl nodded. Ianto scrolled though his contact list, looking for either Jack or Toshiko's number. He turned his back to the little girl as he hit call.

"Come on Jack," He murmured as it started to ring.

Burrrrr

_Burrrrr_

_Burrrrr_

"Come on, come on!" Ianto yelled at the phone. He was about ready to snap it shut when Jack finally picked up the phone.

"Jack." He snapped, "Finally, I-" Ianto stopped, his stomach lurching. His head was beginning to spin: lines were blurring together, lights were streaking across his vision, bubbles popped in his eyes. He made a gagging noise before violently vomiting onto the snow.

"Jack…"He whispered this time. He felt Melissa's hand on his. Then he felt snow, cold and pressed against his cheek. And then…he felt nothing.

"Jack!" It was Toshiko. Couldn't she see that he was busy? Ianto had just called him, and then the phone was suddenly dead. What had happened to the youngest Torchwood operative?

"It better be good Tosh!"

"We have Rift activity!"

Shit.


	2. Handmade Moltovs

**Thanks for all who reviewed; it was love! Sorry for the wait, my computer crashed and we had to get a new one... FAIL D:**

**I'm also in serious need of a beta. Is anyone interested?**

--

"Where is it?" Jack barked. "I want to have it pinpointed, and _now_ Tosh!"

Tosh let out a little whimper at Jack's commandeering tone, but within a few seconds, the she had a trace on the activity. She adjusted her glasses and looked Jack straight in the eye. "Behind the brewery, Twenty-Two and Morgue."

"Good. Now I want you to-"

"I'm going to dial Owen. Do you want Gwen as well?"

"Christ no. Owen's good enough, just make sure he's not plastered and armed. I don't want to be throwing two things in the cells tonight."

"'Kay," Tosh hesitated, but then asked, "Do you want us to meet you there?"

"Owen, yes; you, no."

"What? Why?" Tosh squealed, tossing Jack a Magnum.

"We need you monitoring the CCTV and the Rift Monitors, not out in the field."

"But I-"

"Yes, I know that you're a damn good shot, but we need you _here_ so we're not the ones being shot."

Tosh, sighed, tapped a few keys, and Owen's mobile popped up onto the screen. She clicked the number twice, and ringing filtered out through the sound speakers. After half a ring, he picked up.

"_Tosh, darling, you're bloody amazing."_ He sighed, _"I've been praying all night that you'd call."_

Tosh blushed, "We need you to get to the corner of Twenty-Two and Morgue."

"_The one behind the old brewery?"_

"That's the one. Rift activity." She shifted back over to the Tracker Monitor. "It doesn't seem to be moving, so either it's feeding, sleeping, or dead."

"I'm leaving." Jack yelled from the door. He was dressed in his everyday fashion, but with an added addition of a semi-automatic slung over his back, and a .22 in hand, the Magnum resting snugly in his thigh-holster. "Tell Owen to look out for me; I'm taking the SUV."

"Owen?"

"_Yeah?"_

"Got your gun?"

"_Er…hang on…"_ Tosh could hear Owen fumble with the phone, a car beep, and then a door open. She heard more shifting, a pop, and then…

"_Brilliant. I do."_

"Great. How close are you?" She asked.

"_Close."_

"Okay."

"_And Tosh, love?"_

"Y-yeah?"

"_I __**really**__ owe you one. You don't see someone for almost four years, and you don't have one damn thing to say. Good lord, it was like talking to a retarded puppy."_

Tosh giggled nervously, "Hurry."

"_Will do."_ And the window on the screen read 'Call Disconnected' in flashing lettering. Tosh let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, and pushed her chair away from the desk. Now there was nothing more to do than wait.

"Bugger."

--

Jack glanced at the rift tracker again, wondering if he should be going after Ianto, and not this alien. Was he doing the right thing? He sure as hell hoped so.

He turned the SUV on a dime, swerving around the stop sign and narrowly missing it. The blip on the tracker flashed but was still in the same place, or so it seemed. He looked closer at the dot, bring his eyes almost to the screen, and stared at it for a moment to see-

Bloody hell, it was moving! Slowly but surely, almost as if at a crawling pace, the dot was moving.

"Oh boy…" Jack murmured.

The brewery came into his line of sight, and Jack instinctively reached for his gun, which was lying on the dashboard. He pulled the car to a screeching halt, and jumped out onto the street.

In his ear, his comm clicked to life.

"_Owen's just around the bend, you should see him any second."_

He pressed his fingers to the device, "Thanks, I see him now."

Jack pressed his back to the SUV, making sure that he was out of the creature's visual range. Cocking the Magnum, Jack touched his comm again, "Tosh, does Owen have his comm?"

"_No. I'm staring right at it."_

"Damn."

"_Owen's moving in, you best do the same."_

"Right."

He peeked his hand around the SUV, and sure enough, Owen was glancing over at the SUV. Jack gave a quick wave and Owen nodded back, creeping over to where Jack was. Crouching low, Owen snuck around his car – which was parked in a sort of barricade-like motion with the SUV – and gave a sarcastic smile to Jack.

"Lovely night for a mission, eh Jack?" He whispered as he stood from his trek.

"I know, couldn't be better?"

Owen cleared his throat, "Do we even know what we're after?"

"We know it's not a Weevil." Said Jack.

"Great, now there's only a million or so _other _things it could be."

"Well, a little more than a million."

"Uplifting," Owen mused, "But not what I was looking for."

Jack rolled his eyes, "You go left and I'll go right." And he was gone in a flash, Magnum in hand, .22 loaded and ready to be used.

This time, Owen rolled his eyes, "I always go left."

--

Toshiko bit her lip as she tried calling Ianto again. She was tempted to call Gwen, but the last time she had woken her up for a Rift alert, she had moaned into the phone that all of Torchwood 'bloody needed to get a life.' She _really_ didn't need to deal with her bitching at the moment, but it seemed that she needed the operative, seeing as though she herself couldn't go out and look for Ianto.

_Hello, you've reached Ianto Jones. I'm not here right now so please leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as-_

"Damn it!" Tosh hissed as she x-ed out the computer window. It looked like she had no choice now. Her hands flew furiously across the keys, typing in Gwen's full name. Her number popped up on screen and Tosh hesitated, for a second, remembering Jack's words about not needing Gwen for this.

She double clicked the number – Gwen's home phone – and waited patiently for it to ring. It rang and it rang until the answering machine picked it up. The automated message began playing and Tosh rolled her eyes. Why couldn't Gwen ever-

"_There better be a bloody good reason why you're calling me now."_ Sleep and anger were evident in Gwen's voice.

"We need your help."

"_With?"_

"We think something's happened to Ianto."

"_Do you think, or do you know?" _Gwen snapped._ "Because maybe like me, he just wants SLEEP and isn't answering your calls."_

"He called Jack up, vomited over the phone, and then the line went dead." Tosh stated matter-of-factly. The temptation to hang up on Gwen was overwhelming, but she needed her to be here, and she couldn't really blame the woman for being snappy at the moment. Tosh wanted nothing more than to sleep as well, but Ianto's safety was more important than Tosh's petty needs at the moment.

Gwen was quiet for a moment, and Tosh thought that she had hung up on her, until the other woman sighed. _"Where do you want me?"_

Tosh smiled. Gwen always came through in the end. "His last call was dialed from…" She pulled up the file from her toolbar and read it over quickly. "Just in front of O'Hara's Bar n' Grill."

"_By the firehouse?"_

"No, it's on Fifth Avenue. From your place...if you take Adam, and then make a right on Decker and follow it all the way down, it should come up on your left."

Gwen yawned, _"Right. Call you when I get there."_ And she hung up.

Tosh leaned back in her chair wondering, and not for the first time, why things couldn't be normal in her life.

--

Gwen, who refused to fully change, sat in her car in a jacket and pajama pants, running shoes and a handgun. Rubbing excess sleep from her eyes, she pulled he car out of the driveway, cursing the fact that she had agreed to work for Torchwood. She whipped the car around the bend; following Tosh's exact in instructions.

"Adam leads to Decker, Fifth on my left." She reminded herself. Gwen's cell phone began ringing. She rolled her eyes and looked at the caller ID. Rhys.

"Bless his soul." She smiled and picked it up, "Hello?"

"_Gwen…it's two in the bloody morning."_

"I know," She took the right on Decker and sped the car up. "Duty called though, honey."

"_Well, seeing as though I'm up what do you want for breakfast?"_

"Breakfast?"

"_Yeah, an…early…breakfast?"_

"Rhys, go back to bed, if I'm lucky, I'll be home within the hour."

"_And if your not?"_

"Then I'll be home within the day."

Rhys laughed, _"Right then, be careful."_

"Okay," Gwen hung up the phone and swerved to make the turn onto Fifth. She slowed the car, almost to a crawl, and made her way gently down the street. She was tempted to call Tosh, but all she was sent out for was to make sure that Ianto wasn't dead.

"I can do this."

--

"Owen!" Jack called out, "Help!"

"I'm a bit…tied up at the moment!" He choked out.

The alien creature, which Jack had no time to check Tosh for what it was, had turned out to be a Flan in which Jack had previous encounters with. It had no eyes but a mouth the size of a car tire, with fine pointed teeth that looked like nails. Its body shimmered in the lighting, and if Owen weren't being choked by one of its eight tentacles, then he would have sworn that this Flan…alien…_thing_ was made of Jell-o.

Jack was on one side of the Flan, firing bullets into its gooey flesh, while Owen was pinned to the alley's brick wall, being throttled by the angry beast's tentacle.

"Any bombs in the SUV?" Jack yelled.

Now Owen was pissed. "I don't know, let me go check." He spat. Gasping, Owen knew that if he stayed pinned like this for much longer, he'd end up oxygen deprived, and dead.

"Drama queen," Owen heard Jack mutter. He raised the gun, and with three shots, blew the tentacle off of Owen. The medic fell to the ground gasping for breath, but within seconds he was back up on his feet, ripping his handgun out of his belt. He fired the entire round – thirteen bullets – into the fleshy goop of the creature. Absolutely nothing happened.

"Owen?" Jack made a gesture for the car, "Bombs?"

Gritting his teeth, Owen sprung away to the SUV. Ripping open the passenger side door, he did a quick survey of things that could explode. Maybe if he could make a hole in the gas tank and spew some of the fluids onto the creature…no; Ianto would kill him if he had to repair the car again.

"Shit." Jack yelled from behind him.

"For the love of…" Owen shook his head. Gas tank explosion it was then. Grabbing a water bottle off of the floor, and taking a pocketknife out of his jacket, Owen carefully maneuvered under the vehicle to where the gas tank was. Unsheathing the knife, he carefully placed the water bottle to the gas tank and punctured a hole in it. The liquid drained quickly, and in no time all 22 ounces of the bottle were filled. He slammed the knife into the hole, to stop any more excess fluids from dripping, and rolled out.

"Owennnnnn," Jack whined.

"Shut up!" Grabbing napkins from the ground (for once he was glad the SUV was this messy) he jammed them into the bottle. Owen grinned manically, "Molotov cocktail."

He took out his lighter and ran towards the beast.

"Oi, ugly, over here!" he shouted. The Flan turned around and roared, charging at him with a sluggish pace. Lighting the Molotov, he waited…waited…and threw it just as the beast screamed. The Flan swallowed it just as the wick burned to the gas, and it halted abruptly. Owen, with a smug look on his face, flipped off the creature as it screamed and internally exploded.

Ice blue goop slapped against the walls of the alleyway and splattered Owen and Jack. It was as if someone dropped a bowl of blueberry ice cream on the men, for the bodily fluids of the Flan were cold to the touch, and sticky as well as stinky.

It was Jack who spoke first, "Creative thinking."

"You think?" Owen returned, acting mildly surprised.

"Oh yes," Jack spit out a mouthful of the creature's goo. "I'll taste this for weeks to come."

"Joy."

At his side, Jack's phone rang. He looked at Owen, "I'm amazed this still works."

Owen shrugged and set to work pulling the slime out of his hair and off of his clothes.

"Hell-o?"

"_Jack, its Gwen."_

Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Gwen? What are you-"

"_I've found Ianto."_

"You did?" He cocked his other eyebrow.

"_Yeah, and it's not good."_


End file.
